Bristol, Clevedon and the hungriest pigeons we've ever seen!

I had a weekend off in March, and we decided to go away for the night. We'd not been to Bristol for a while, so decided to pop and spend the day there. There's this interesting ruined church in the city centre, with a community garden to the side of it. It was closed off the last time we were here, and is still locked. I would have thought it was be easy enough to make safe and create a nice little area for people to sit and unwind, particularly as although it's near the city centre, it feels very quiet there.

We also wandered past this big piece of graffiti, which seemed perfectly framed between the trees!
Bristol has some really interesting street art and graffiti tucked in amongst the older buildings, some of which was quite meaningful.
Like these two figures in the Ukrainian colours hugging while surrounded by anti tank defences. It was a deeply moving piece of art, and a constant reminder to the human cost of Russia's deadly invasion. I hope that at some point peace will be achieved and Russia will be removed from Ukrainian territory. But when that will happen, I suppose is anyone's guess. Despite the heroic defence and incredible Ukrainian resistance, there seems to be a quieter global approach to the war there. Something which I hope does not continue, Ukraine deserves peace.

We had the day wandering through the shopping quarter, browsing the many shops and stalls of the market that was going on. We didn't get much, but I did find a nice little wool shop where I picked up some for my Nan, who knits the most incredible things

We stayed overnight on the outskirts of Bristol, before heading to Clevedon for the day. The main attraction is the beautiful and rather slender & graceful pier. If I was to be a pier (an abstract concept I know) I would want to be the Clevedon pier. It was calm & quiet, and with a wonderful charm to it, it's duck egg colour contrasting with the muddy waters beneath.
Aside from a couple of people in the little tearoom on the pierhead, we were the only ones visiting, and it was lovely to have the run of the place.
Who doesn't love a good seagull plant pot? And here's James gazing wistfully over the water. He said he would love to live here. He likes places that are quiet and have some charm. I do too, but I much prefer living in the city centre, surrounded by busyness and with everything you need only a short walk away.
Here's a view of Clevedon pier and the beach. As you can see, it was a gloomy & overcast day, but we didn't let that stop us enjoying it! Ticket prices for the pier are a reasonable £6 for adults, and if you're a UK tax payer you can add giftaid to it to increase the money from your ticket by 25% to help fund conservation work on the pier. The ticket lasts for a year, meaning if you're semi local, you can visit as much as you like. And just to make you aware, they are cashfree. What's not to love? You can find out more at their website, clevedonpier
We made a stopover on the way home to Aldershot, where James wanted to feed the pigeons. As soon as he opened the bag of bird seed, we were mobbed by a large flock of incredibly hungry pigeons. It was like they hadn't eaten all day!
This was perhaps the funniest one. We had run out of bird seed and had told the pigeons that. But one wanted to check James's pocket, just in case there was anymore there!

And then that was the weekend over already! Doesn't time fly? Perhaps I need some sort of lottery win, and then I wouldn't have to work again! Does anyone know the numbers for the next draw?

Comments

Post a Comment

Hi there! Use this comments box to leave any feedback you may have. Many thanks!

Popular posts from this blog

Been so long...

Hello. I do apologize for there being such a delay in this post. Something has really stopped me from blogging the past two months, and it's almost felt like my fingertips have had no life in them. But the fact that I am typing this now may mean we are back on track. Lets see what I have to tell you. First off, I guess the most important news is that I now have two jobs. As well as working at the other place, I've also taken up a second job at another well known high street chain working Saturday and Sunday night's for some more cash before I go travelling across Europe. It's not too bad on the weekends I don't work at the usual place, but when I do work there, I end up going for no sleep or even a proper break for nearly 36 hours. It's bloody hard going, but at the end of the day, I need to do this if I want to get anywhere. As they say, no pain no gain. It was Nan's birthday saturday, so we all went up to her's for fish and chips and a bit of cake....
Click here to read more »

Siena

Image
Now we all know towns and cities that have a major rivalry. Back home in England, it's between the city I live in, Southampton, and a city further along the coast called Portsmouth. It's mainly along football lines, but it's a rivalry all the same. However, no rivalry will ever come as close to being as fierce as between Siena and Florence. For years the two cities have tried to out do each other right from the beginning of time it seems! I can't tell you if there is a winner or not, but instead  have a look at some pictures of the fabulous Sienese cathedral. Even if you just do a day trip like I did, I promise you Siena won't dissapoint. Maybe then you can decide which of the two cities is the best? 
Click here to read more »

San Marino

Image
Next I visited everyone's favourite micro state, (no not Andorra!) San Marino! It was a bit of a challenge to get to, I caught the train from Ravenna to Rimini (literally managing to get on the train as it was about to pull away after a small fiasco at the ticket machine) then a coach from Rimini to Citta Di San Marino. First of all, no I didn't meet Valentina Monetta while I was there, but my gosh wow the views are fantastic! The whole city is perched high on the hills, and the ground is just a vertical drop next to you And perched atop these dramatic cliffs are the 3 towers of San Marino. Only one was open while I was there, and not only did it give me amazing views from the top, but It also had quite an interesting medieval weaponry exhibition, (yes that is a child's toy cannon, and people wonder why so many children died from accidents when they were allowed to play with cannons and muskets!) San Marino is a bit like the land that time forgot. Everywhere ...
Click here to read more »